Tracking hyperinflation one cup of coffee at a time

Pretty good idea. Of course The Economist has been tracking the cost of Big Macs around the world for years.

(From Bloomberg)

Inflation is soaring in Venezuela. Everyone knows that.

But how high is it really? 250 percent a year? 500 percent? 1,000 percent? None of the above? In the absence of official data — the government long ago stopped publishing figures on a regular basis — economists are left to dial up what are, essentially, wild guesses.